August

The last month of summer is always busy because we try to shove everything we haven't been able to do into the last days before school.  This year was extra busy.  But, yes, we did get in some fun family time.

The big event was a day at Boondocks (arcade, games, rides, etc).  All summer they have been saving their candy and turning off lights (this is a problem at our house) and received POINTS.  Those points went into tokens for the arcade at Boondocks.  They love to play those dumb games!  Though, I admit, it is addicting, and I can see why people become gamblers.  But, that is not all we did.  We played laser tag, rode race cars, water boats, and played on the jungle gym.  We spent hours and hours there, even went home for lunch, and came back!  I am proud of the kids for not eating candy and for learning to turn off their lights--worth it!

We also went to "This is the Place" with my friends from France, Karine and Fred Harvard.  It was so fun to see them and the kids had blast.  Their daughters are sweet girls.  They now live in California and plan on visiting Utah again.  Karine was my visiting teacher when I lived in France and I learned a great deal from her.  She is the only member in her family.  She met Fred when I was there, but he wasn't a member.  He joined the church and they got married.  Now they are a very faithful couple who are great parents and good people.

It is fun to see friends! I also had a visit from a friend from Ricks and BYU, Trevor Cardno.  It was great to see him and talk about the old days.  Fun to catch up.

The kids had fun with other kids in the neighborhood.  We did a "backyard battle"--kids brought any toys that battle; Pokemon, Beyblades, nerf guns, etc.  They had a great time!  Brennan and his friend Luke had a Magic Show they put on for neighborhood kids.  And Aidan, Brennan, and Elise went to a Carnival held by some of the young girls (they had put together little activities for the kids and charged so parents could have a night out, They were quite the entrepreneurs).

For Weston, big changes are happening.  He started Oquirrh Hills Middle School AND he got braces!  His orthodontist is a guy from the ward and is very good at what he does.  And a good guy.  Weston was very good for him, and didn't complain at all.  He was wary about showing us his silver smile, but eventually we got a grin from him and now he is used to the braces and they haven't bothered him too much (just wait until he gets them tightened...).  He is signed up for some great classes.  I am excited to speak Spanish with him (we will have a secret language no one else in the family can understand!).  He has his locker combination memorized and has figured out how to get to each class.  Easy peasy, right?  He is doing great on his soccer team and loves going to Young Men.  They did another camp out and he is a trooper.  Carrying everything he needs on his back!  We are lucky to have such a good, responsible kid for the oldest brother in our family!

Aidan's teacher this year is Mrs. O'Donoghue from Ireland.  She is a great teacher and will suit him well.  He is already loving school and doing well.  His big news is that he will be singing in a Primary Choir during the second session of General Conference (look for him!).  He has practices weekly until then, so he is keeping busy with that, homework, piano and soccer.  We love his hard work and determination (read in Cuz Chron about his newest goal he has set).

Brennan's teacher is Mrs. Periera from England.  She is a strict, but good teacher.  Brennan is such a sweet boy and always looking on the bright side.  He decided to do Flag Football this year with his friend Luke.  He told me, "With sports, I don't really care, I just want to do whatever Luke is doing."  Easy to please.  But, even without caring to much, he is hard at work trying to learn how to play and practicing with Weston.

Elise is now a Kindergartner!  I can't believe it.  My baby is in school every day!  I will miss her, as she has been such a great buddy for me.  I love taking her places and doing things with her.  :(  But, I am excited for her to be a school girl.  She is in Mrs. Martir's class and is already starting to learn cursive and  all her sounds.  She is also busy with tumbling twice a week and she started Let's Play Music!  She loves it and is able to go with her friends Halle and Nathan.

With all that is going on now, I have SIX different carpools to get kids to all their activities.  I have a special calendar JUST for carpool!  It is crazy, and busy, but I have also had lots of time to try and catch up on things--like finishing up the last things in the basement.  My big project right now is taking everything out of the storage room, organizing it, throwing things out, and putting it all back in in a sensible manner.  Next project, mom is coming to help me finish my quilt.  Scott has been doing little things such as door stops, touch up paint, big furniture in place, etc.  It is so nice to have it done and be able to enjoy a cool (nice in the summer) place to hang out!

But, finishing the basement has been interrupted over and over again with other things.  Such as Scott's parents moving into their new home.  They sold the one in Murray and now they will live just 10 minutes away from us!  The house is gorgeous, but much smaller (which is good), and so they have gotten rid of LOTS of stuff.  And guess who took lots of it?  And where am I going to put it?????  Good thing I am going through the storage room and organizing!  Maybe I can fit all the the new things in it!  We are glad Scott's parents are close, but it has come with something: we are constantly being called to help dad move this, do that, etc...  I guess we will put up with it since we get to see them often! :)

Scott got extremely sick.  He wasn't feeling well, and stayed in bed for a few days.  Finally on a Friday night, he was in so much pain that we took him to the Emergency Room.  Luckily, Omi and Opa were on their way down, so they stayed with the kids.  It ended up being three different bacteria strains, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and something else I can't pronounce.  Poor guy was miserable.  He was supposed to run a triathlon, but of course had to miss it.  A few weeks later was his Half Iron Man.  He felt good enough to do it, but I wonder once he was done if he should have done it...  Too soon after being sick.  But, I am proud of him because he stretched his limits and did something very difficult!

Weather is cooling down, slightly, and we are ready to harvest and make spaghetti sauce.  Our trees didn't produce much unfortunately, but honestly, I don't think I would have had time to take care of it all anyway.  The basement is so consuming!  Thank goodness things are calming down and we are back to a schedule.  Love to you all!